Faculty Senate members expressed dismay Sept. 27 over a requirement to file activity reports this year ? despite the fact that the reports won?t be reviewed.

-Faculty members are required to file a Faculty Activity Report detailing each professor?s activities every year, said Dean of Faculty and Staff Affairs David Wagner. The reports are then to be reviewed by committee members from various departments on campus, resulting in potential pay increases for faculty.

-Due to stalled contract negotiations between the California Faculty Association and the California State University Chancellor?s Office, however, the reports won?t be looked at this year, said Faculty Senate Chair Bob Buckley. He said filing the reports this semester would be pointless if they won?t generate any results.

-“It?s silly and a waste of time,” Buckley said. “The faculty gets to do this each year, but this year, nobody will read them; it?s unfortunate.”

-The pay hikes are based on three criteria, Buckley said. Faculty salary may be raised by either a cost of living increase, a merit increase or a promotion.

-“The other two options will be in effect,” Buckley said. “However, the (Faculty Merit Increase) is on hold this year,” Buckley said. FMIs have been included in the past two salary contracts, which lasted three years each, Wagner said. In the past, many faculty members have criticized the increases, saying they take emphasis away from classroom performance.

-“Faculty are required to file a report in terms of what they?ve done in their past assignment, whether it is sitting on committees, service to the university or just about anything else. That report becomes the basis of the merit pay increase,” Wagner said.

-Wagner said faculty is still bound to the rules of the last salary contract, even though it expired in spring 2001. Therefore, the reports still had to be filed by Oct. 1.

-“Even though the three year contract is up, faculty is still required to file a report,” Wagner said. “Faculty questions why we need to fill it out if there is no chance of a merit pay increase due to the fact that we are in negotiations. They?ve got to do it by Oct. 1, regardless of whether there is merit or not.”